Cantor-Manzullo rift about salvation?

The animus between House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and veteran Illinois Republican Rep. Don Manzullo predates the six-figure sum that Cantor and his allies spent to defeat the longtime lawmaker in a nasty GOP primary last month.

Manzullo — according to more than a half-dozen Republican sources — once said Cantor, a devout Jew, would not be “saved.” The remark occurred several years ago, when Cantor was serving as chief deputy whip, the sources said. Cantor allies were put off by the comment, Republicans said.

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Rich Carter, a Manzullo spokesman, denied his boss ever made such a comment. But the allegations made the rounds within the upper ranks of the House Republican Conference, leading Manzullo to request a meeting with Cantor in January to discuss what he considered an untrue — and damaging — rumor.

During that session, Manzullo also confronted Cantor about his support for Rep. Adam Kinzinger, his primary opponent, according to a source familiar with the matter. Kinzinger knocked off the 10-term Manzullo in a March 20 primary, ending his career.

Cantor and his political allies ended up spending more than $100,000 to help Kinzinger in the race, and an angry Manzullo has called for Cantor to resign as majority leader for taking sides in a GOP primary.

Cantor’s office declined to comment on the alleged remark by Manzullo and would not comment on the one-on-one meeting between Cantor and Manzullo. Manzullo’s office said the recently defeated lawmaker could not be reached for comment.

But the incident provides further insight into a fight that has been the talk of Capitol Hill Republicans during the past few weeks. And it illustrates Cantor’s willingness to take sides in an intraparty fight at the risk of alienating veteran Republicans.

That support has been the chatter of Republican political circles, and the situation was further aggravated last week when it was revealed that Cantor — at the behest of Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock — cut a $25,000 check to the Campaign for Primary Accountability (CPA), a controversial super PAC dedicated to defeating incumbents from both parties. Cantor’s staff says it earmarked the contribution so it would only target Manzullo. But the Campaign for Primary Accountability said the money could have been used in any race.

The question, asked privately over the past few weeks, is simple: “What was Cantor thinking?”

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) explained the shock and unhappiness that many Republican are privately expressing.

“It had never occurred to me that a member of the House leadership would take sides in a Republican primary involving fellow members or would support an anti-incumbent political action committee,” Brooks said in an interview Monday.